Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

2023 South African constitutional amendment

Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023

Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to recognise South African Sign Language as one of the official languages of the Republic; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.
Passed by	National Assembly
Passed	2 May 2023
Assented to	19 July 2023
Legislative history
Bill title	Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill
Bill citation	B1—2023
Introduced by	Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Introduced	11 January 2023
Amends
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Status: Not yet in force

The Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa (formally the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023) will make South African Sign Language an official language of South Africa.^[1]

The bill for the amendment was introduced in the National Assembly on 11 January 2023 by Ronald Lamola, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.^[2] It was adopted unanimously by the assembly on 2 May,^[3] and signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 19 July of the same year.^[1] It will come into force on a date to be proclaimed by the president in the Government Gazette.

References

^ ^a ^b Thebus, Shakirah (20 July 2023). "SA Sign Language signed into law as the country's 12th official language". Cape Argus. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ Dentlinger, Lindsay (2 May 2023). "Parly passes bill to make sign language SA's twelfth official language". EWN. Retrieved 20 July 2023.